Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 541 The Whereabouts of the Tuoba Clan
A tribe of 3000 people has limited number of fighters, which is much worse than Li Guangrui leading [-] fine cavalry. Moreover, they protect the old, weak, women, children, and property of the entire tribe. The formation is very scattered. When the Xiazhou army When they took off their white smocks one after another and launched a swift and violent attack on them, the Dangxiang tribe was caught off guard and was immediately cut into three pieces by the Xiazhou Army and surrounded in groups. It had completely lost the chance to break through, which meant that no one could escape. go out.

Li Guangrui, who is over half a century old, has the same prestige as before. He rushed forward with a sword in his hand. His example infected the soldiers under his command. Those brave Xiazhou soldiers rushed forward one by one, screaming.The battle ended quickly, the tribe's troops were limited, and it seemed that they did not expect the Xiazhou army to come so quickly, and they did not stay in camp to rest in such a snowstorm. situation.

The snow was rolled like mud, and the blood splashed in the white snow was dazzling.Dead bodies are everywhere, cattle and sheep are scattered, and the battle has basically entered the final stage. Some soldiers from Xiazhou besieged and killed the last dozen or so tribal fighters who were unwilling to surrender. Li Guangrui ordered people to bring some people who were clearly dressed and had high status in the tribe to the front, full of expectations and ready to start the interrogation.

Li Guangrui was overjoyed at this inquiry. After dividing his troops these days, he also ran into some tribes close to the Miqin and Tuoba clans. Those who refused to submit were wiped out, but they were not from the same tribes of the Miqin and Tuoba clans. , I don't even know where Mi Qin and Tuoba finally hid.But this time it was very different.After interrogation, it was found that this tribe was actually a part of the Tuoba clan's headquarters. Their patriarch was the great elder of the Tuoba clan, but he had died a few days ago, and now the leader of this tribe is the grandson of the great elder of the Tuoba clan Tuoba Gelu.

Tuoba Gelu was brought in front of Li Guangrui, his expression was gloomy, he didn't say a word when he saw Li Guangrui, no matter how much he asked, he just gritted his teeth and refused to speak.

"Wait a minute!"

Li Guangrui stopped the soldiers under him, untied the leather bag from his waist, pulled out the cork, took a sip, and handed it to Tuoba Gelu.

"Good wine!"

Tuoba Gelu sniffed the taste, praised it, raised his head unceremoniously, and drank the strong wine to the last drop.

Li Guangrui just watched with a smile, and when he finished drinking, he stroked his beard and said, "Tuoba Gelu, your Tuoba clan and our Xiazhou Li clan are both from the party and have a common ancestor. I have no intention of conquering other tribes and bullying the weak. It’s just that the tribes of our party have been fighting on their own, fighting endlessly, and guarding the desolate land at the foot of Hengshan Mountain without thinking about progress. In the past two years, the Song Dynasty has destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty in the North and the South in the South. It is only a matter of time before the Han conquers Wu and Yue, and the Southern Tang will happen sooner or later. After the Song Dynasty unifies the Central Plains and the South, it will inevitably use troops against the Northwest, and by then it will be the end of our party.”

Speaking of this, Li Guangrui found that Tuoba Gelu's expression was slightly relaxed, and he was overjoyed, and continued: "In order to prevent our party members from being destroyed by the Song Dynasty, we can only unite as one, merge a part, and then establish a country, and then we will continue to fight." After working hard, we can compete with the Song State. In this way, not only can our party members survive, but also we can grab a better chassis from the Han people, at least let all party members get out of Hengshan and have Xiazhou. A good place to build a city. The other seven clan chiefs did not want to lose power for their own selfishness. In the end, our party members were wiped out by the Han people. I know it well. I have [-] elite soldiers in Xiazhou. It is not you, Tuoba, who can resist. If you can help me find the hiding place of Tuoba, after Tuoba Zhenli is killed by me, Tuoba will surrender to me In Xiazhou, the nearly [-] people of the Tuoba clan can save themselves from the disaster of war. This is your merit. And I make you the new patriarch of the Tuoba clan. You know what kind of excellent content you have obtained, and I believe you also believe what I say."

Tuoba Gelu was silent when he heard this, Li Guangrui just stared at him and didn't speak.After a long while, Tuoba Gelu let out a long sigh and said, "Everyone in our Hengshan Dangxiang clan knows the prestige of the Li clan leader in Xiazhou. That's all, it's God's will. What the Li clan leader said is indeed reasonable, if our Dangxiang clan doesn't Unite as one, if you don’t build a country and strengthen yourself, you will be wiped out by the Han people. I will recruit it, but I hope that the Li clan master can keep his promise and treat my Tuoba clan people kindly!”

Li Guangrui suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and said generously: "Just say it, I will learn from it!"

"Good! Good!"

Tuoba Gelu smiled miserably, and then said: "Actually, I, Tuoba Gelu, and Tuoba Zhenli already have a sworn enemy."

Li Guangrui's eyes flashed, and he asked, "How do you say that?"

Tuoba Gelu said: "To tell you the truth, I, Tuoba Zhenli, the patriarch of the Tuoba Clan, is not united with the Presbyterian Church. After the main soldiers of the Li Clan sent Hengzhou to attack the Seventh Clan of our party, whether to fight or relocate Tuoba Zhenli and the Presbyterian Church also had a great conflict."

Since Tuoba Zhenli became the patriarch of the Tuoba clan, Li Guangrui's horse scouts also got some relevant information, and they matched with what Tuoba Gelu said at this time, and Li Guangrui believed the latter's words.When Tuoba Zhenli first came to the throne of patriarch, he had several conflicts with the Elder Council.

It's just because the Tuoba elders hold the most powerful force in the Tuoba tribe, and he is also aware of the situation of controlling Tuoba Zhenli. It coincides with Tuoba Gelu's more "implicit" explanation, and thus also It deepened what he said to Tuoba Gelu just now.

Tuoba Gelu said: "After the news that the leader of the Li family led his army to attack the Hengshan Seven Clans, the patriarch and the elders quarreled fiercely, and finally broke up unhappy. According to the meaning of the elders, It is to take advantage of the geographical advantage to fight with Patriarch Li first, but the patriarch wants to move his clan to avoid the general's attack. The two sides are at a stalemate and missed the best opportunity to deal with Patriarch Li. However, a Han envoy came later, After a secret discussion with the elders and the patriarch, the patriarch and the elders came down in a hurry and wanted to move to Helan Mountain to temporarily avoid Patriarch Li."

Li Guangrui listened and thought: "Thanks to my full strength marching, otherwise it would be troublesome for him to calmly gather the Tuoba clan's elite to take advantage of the terrain and fight to the death on Helan Mountain. Besides, the Han envoy is probably the person sent by the black hand behind the scenes .”

Tuoba Gelu smiled wryly and said: "But, Tuoba Zhenli and the Presbyterian Council! Later, although both parties intended to migrate to Helan Mountain to escape, but where to hide in Helan Mountain, the two parties had different intentions. The Presbyterian Council They want to move north directly through the Helan Mountains to the extreme north. They think that the environment is bitter and cold. It is also unbearable, when a large number of shepherds and cattle and sheep will freeze to death, they will be severely injured, as long as they enter Helan Mountain and find a shelter from the wind, it will be fine for a while."

Li Guangrui thought: "This is in line with the character of Tuoba Zhenli and the elders of the Tuoba Presbyterian Church."

Li Guangrui couldn't help but ask, "What was the result?"

Tuoba Gelu said: "As a result, Tuoba Zhenli suddenly arranged for his confidants to kill half of the elders, and my grandfather was also killed by him. The Tuoba clan led most of the Tuoba clan to sneak into the Xikou Canyon of Helan Mountain with bloody and coercive means. , because my grandfather was killed by Tuoba Zhenli, I took part of my tribe to separate from Tuoba Zhenli. I wanted to find a hidden place to hide. Back! Unexpectedly, I ran into you."

Li Guangrui was quite pleased when he heard that, if he hadn't insisted on splitting up his troops to expand the search area, he would not have met Tuoba Gelu, and would not have imagined that Tuoba Zhenli would take the tribe to Helan Mountain.If that's the case, wouldn't they just sit back and watch Tuoba escape?
Thinking of this, Tuoba Zhenli immediately asked further: "Tuoba Zhenli really took the tribe to the Xikou Canyon of Helan Mountain."

Tuoba Gelu nodded and said: "It's absolutely correct, if there is a falsehood, Patriarch Li will chop me off with one knife."

Seeing this, Li Guangrui's doubts gradually faded away, he was overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "How many troops does Tuoba Zhenli have now?"

Tuoba Gelu said: "Tuoba Zhenli headquarters has only 7000 elite riders, of which 3000 are escorting families and luggage, only 4000 elite riders are left, and another [-] are ordered to attract your attention on the Hengshan grassland. Lead you around in circles and cover the tribe's migration!"

Li Guangrui was invigorated when he heard the words. So far, what Tuoba Gelu said was true. He finally said: "Are you willing to lead the way for my army? Don't worry, what I said just now definitely counts!"

Tuoba Gelu heard the words, thought for a while, stomped his foot, and said: "Forget it, I am willing to listen to Patriarch Li's order!"

Li Guangrui immediately said: "Tuoba Zhenli led the tribe to the Xikou Canyon of Helan Mountain. Zhang Yu and Wang Dongzhi quickly assembled the troops and followed me to the Xikou Canyon of Helan Mountain. As long as Tuoba Zhenli was captured in one fell swoop, The Tuoba clan surrendered to me, so the Miqin clan is nothing to worry about. You must know that the Tuoba clan has always been the most special one among the tribes in the center of Hengshan. If the Tuoba clan surrenders to me, the overall situation of Hengshan is settled! "

Zhang Yu felt something was wrong when he heard it. After hesitating for a while, he finally gritted his teeth and said: "Patriarch, the group of people in the dark have not figured it out. To be on the safe side, we will see at the end of the day. It is better to dispatch scouts to spy on the movement first. Let's immediately ask the follow-up troops to hurry up, wait until all the soldiers and horses are assembled, and we have found out what Tuoba Gelu said is true, and then we will not be too late to advance!"

(End of this chapter)